I was considering whether to bother using my vote in the upcoming elections, but this chap on the TUC website might have a point:

"Refusing to vote will not stop a single councillor or MEP getting elected. Instead it will simply make it much more likely that extremists - particularly those peddling race hate and intolerance - will be elected. This is a particular danger in the Euro-elections where the proportional system allows people to get elected on a relatively small share of the vote."

This is an absolutely vital point.

Turnout at European elections is always low anyway. This time the mainstreamers will stay at home, and the share of protest votes will go up. A lot will go to the BNP. If they score over 8%, they get seats. And they also get hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money.